Caramel Pecan Bars

Who likes caramel and pecans?  Yes!  I can envision the hands in the air.  Combine that with a buttery crust and you have a wonderful bar that will make you do back flips with each and every bite.

These bars remind me of pecan pie...sort of,  but just not quite.
This is a nice alternative to pecan pie for those of you who break out in a sweat at the thought of having to bake a pie or make pie crust.  Fear no more.  The crust for these bars does not require a rolling pin.  You pat the crust into the pan with your fingers.  How simple is that! 

I have gotta warn you though, you will need to bust out your stretchy waistband pants or loosen your belt a notch because these babies will blow you diet!  They are loaded with butter, brown sugar, cream....you get the picture. Do not skimp on the ingredients, use real butter and real cream.  You'll be glad you did. 

Although I didn't try it, I believe that the topping mixture would be amazing served warm over vanilla bean ice cream. Yup, I sampled it. I admit it.  I intentionally left a little in the pan so I could indulge....hey, quality control right?

These bar cookies travel well and would be great for a Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering, a Cookie Exchange or to take to work for Goodie Day.  If you have new neighbors, they would make a great housewarming gift.  I'll likely whip of a batch of these this winter for the neighbor who clears my driveway with his snow blower (please oh, please let there be that much snow this year)!

Bacon Caramels

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon....I LOVE bacon.  I also love caramels and this is a match made in heaven!

If you are a bacon lover or know someone who is, I guarantee you that these will be a big hit!  Providing samples with the ingredients "undisclosed" (because there are those who will be skeptics) result in rave reviews.

I cut these in small squares, probably 1 inch by 1 inch and wrapped them in waxed paper.  I think these would be wonderful cut in smaller pieces and added to Cheesecake Ice Cream (appearing later in the blog).

Bacon Caramels

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream, divided
1/4 cup maple syrup
12 strips of crisp cooked  bacon, crumbled into pieces

 

 

Directions:
 

1. Thoroughly butter an 8x8 Pyrex dish and set aside.
2. Set aside 1/2 cup of the heavy cream.
3. In a medium saucepan (non-stick of you have one), combine all remaining ingredients except the bacon.
4. Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until temperature reaches 240 degrees F.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cream.
6. Return the plan to the burner and continue to cook to 245 degrees F.
7. Immediately remove from heat and stir in two-thirds of the crumbled bacon.  Mix well.
8. Pour the caramel into the buttered dish.
9. Top with the remaining crumbled bacon. 
10.  Let set for at least 3 hours before cutting.  In the heat we've had this summer, I'd also recommend refrigerating these after they have cooled to room temperature.

.....and that is What's Cooking At Cathy's ~ Enjoy!



Rolo Delights

A bag of these delightful sweet treats are on the way to my brother who is serving in the Army half way around the world.  I found this recipe in the local newspaper last year.  It was around holiday time.  I made them and they were a huge hit.  Watch for Rolos on sale and keep them on hand for this quick and easy treat. 

The most time consuming part of fixing these delightful treats is unwrapping the Rolos.  So grab the kids or grandkids to help you, but be prepared for a few to be eaten in the process!

If you are making up a couple of bags of Rolos into these, you may want to unwrap them the evening before and just store them until you are ready to use them.

This recipe makes about 50.  Be prepared, they won't last long!






Rolo Delights

Ingredients:

1 bag Rolo candies
Small Pretzel Twists
Pecan Halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
2. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place pretzels in a single layer on the baking sheet.
4. Place 1 unwrapped Rolo on top of each pretzel.
5. Sort through your pecans and find enough nice halves to place on top of the candies and set them aside.
6. When you have your pecans ready, Put the cookie sheet with the Rolo topped pretzels into the oven.
7. After 3 minutes check the candies to see if they have started to melt and are squishy. It doesn't take long and you don't want them to melt completely down.
8. When they are soft, remove them from the oven and push a pecan half into the top of each Rolo.

Set aside to cool then watch them disappear!